Eight battle it out for Midlands Newspaper of the Year

 

 

The Midlands Media Awards has announced its annual shortlist- with the Birmingham Mail cornering 15 nominations and the Stoke Evening Sentinel capturing six bids while smaller papers such as the Derby telegraph (6) and the weekly Tamworth Herald (5) also stood out.

Newcomer of the Year is the most hotly-contested category, with 26 entries received from media students and trainee reporters.

However, only two submissions were shortlisted for the Business Journalist award – the judges saying that they were surprised that many entrants regarded re-hashed press releases as being worthy of a prestigious award. And, judges added, it was apparent that few newspapers in the region adequately covered the business sector.

Altogether, more than 200 entries have been submitted for the Awards from across the region, with eight titles competing for Newspaper of the Year.

“At a time when journalists, nationwide, are still concerned over redundancies and title closures, it is encouraging to note that the awards still have as much appeal as ever,” said Llewela Bailey, chairman of Birmingham Press Club which has been organising the Midlands Media Awards for the past 15 years.

HSBC is headline sponsor of the awards, which are being held on 2nf November at Canalside, a waters-edge location within The Cube in Birmingham city centre. Other supporters are Bareface, Core, Russell Printers, The High Field and Milk and Mayo.

Among those shortlisted for the awards are:

Blogger/Columnist of the Year:

Anton Rippon, Derby Telegraph

Cheryl Hague, Derby Telegraph

Gary Newbon, Birmingham Mail/Coventry Telegraph

Jenny Amphlett, The Sentinel

Mike Lockley, Birmingham Mail

Peter Rhodes, Express and Star

Ross Hawkes, Lichfield Live

 

Business Journalist:

Enda Mullen, Coventry Telegraph

Les Reid, Coventry Observer

 

Campaign of the Year:

Tamworth Herald’s Forgotten Warrior

Tamworth Herald/Lichfield Mercury’s Save the Hospital Unit

The Sentinel’s Stoke-on-Trent City of Culture Bid

Birmingham Mail’s Justice for the 21

Birmingham Mail’s Pay for Hospice’s Christmas Day.

Express and Star’s Zombie Knives Campaign

 

Digital/Online Journalist:

Caroline Lowbridge, BBC East Midlands

James Sharpe, Leicester Mercury

Annette Belcher, Birmingham Mail

Antonia Bannister, Coventry Telegraph

Graham Young, Birmingham Mail

Rebecca Burrows, ITV Central

 

Features Journalist:

Amy Bowen, Central Independent Newspapers

Andie Darlington, Taste the Seasons

Jessica Labhart, Express and Star

Justine Halifax, Birmingham Mail

Mike Lockley, Sunday Mercury

Richard Alt, The Sentinel

Zoe Chamberlain, Birmingham Mail

 

Llewela Bailey: “Awards still have appeal…”

Magazine/Supplement:

ArtsBeat (Amanda Penman)

Birmingham 2022 (Paul Cole)

Birmingham Living (Jonathan Carter)

Midlands Business Insider (Ian Griffin)

Venture (Kathryn Emerson)

Shropshire Business (Carl Jones)

 

Newcomer of the Year:

Jack Furness, The Sentinel

Jordan Coussins, Central Independent Newspapers

Gemma Davies, Quidem Radio

Michael McCann, Staffordshire University

Rhea Turner, Burton Mail

Oliver Hills, Birmingham Updates

 

News Reporter (Daily):

Enda Mullen, Coventry Telegraph

Jeanette Oldham, Birmingham Mail

Neil Elkes, Birmingham Post & Mail

Isaac Crowson, Derby Telegraph

Jack Averty, Express and Star

Helen Kreft, Burton Mail

 

News Reporter (Weekly)

Adam Smith, Halesowen News

Beverley Holder, Stourbridge News

Jordan Coussins, Central Independent Newspapers

Mike Lockley, Sunday Mercury

Nicholas Reid, Tamworth Herald

Sam Jones, Tamworth Herald

Sanjeeta Baines, Birmingham Post

 

Newspaper of the Year:

Birmingham Mail

Burton Mail

Derby Telegraph

Express and Star

Hereford Times

Hinckley Times

Sunday Mercury

Tamworth Herald

 

Radio Journalist of the Year:

Alex Hulse, Global Radio

Laura Chiverton, Global Radio

Laura Scigliano, Gem 106

Jennie Aitken, BBC Radio Stoke

Louise Easton, Free Radio

Rob Trigg, Free Radio

 

Sports Journalist of the Year:

Steve Clamp, ITV Central

Michael Sibert, ITV Central

Geoff Berkeley, Worcester News

James Sharpe, Leicester Mercury

Lewis Cox, Express and Star

Simon Gilbert, Coventry Telegraph

 

Story of the Year:

An Afghan interpreter’s journey (Audrey Dias, BBC Midlands Today)

Racism in football (Michael McCann, Staffordshire University)

NHS prescription fraud (Jonathan Gibson, BBC Inside Out West Midlands))

Horrors of Aston Hall (Isaac Crowson, Derby Telegraph)

Death on the Freezing Street –tragedy of rough sleeper (Birmingham Mail)

Tesco Pricing (Jonathan Gibson, BBC Inside Out West Midlands)

 

Television Journalist:

David Gregory-Kumar, BBC Midlands Today

Mike Prince, Made in Birmingham TV

Jonathan Gibson, BBC Inside Out West Midlands

Mark Gough and Michael Sibert, both of ITV Central

Sian Grzeszczyk, BBC Midlands Today

 

Tony Flanagan Photographer of the Year:

Darren Quinton, Trinity Mirror

Graham Young, Birmingham Mail

Nick Wilkinson, Birmingham Mail

Richard T Harris, Central Independent Newspapers

Steve Bould, The Sentinel

Tim Easthope, Birmingham Mail